Anna Deavere SmithProjects

ABOUT THEPIPELINEPROJECT

“The Pipeline Project” is Anna Deavere Smith’s newest endeavor. Its centerpiece is her play, “Notes from the Field.” Using her signature form of theater, based on interviews with hundreds of individuals, the play shines a light on the lack of opportunity and resources for young people living in poverty and often suffering with regard to their physical and mental health, and how these circumstances often lead them into the criminal justice system. “The Pipeline Project” also seeks to extend the conversation on these pressing issues beyond the theater into America’s communities through audience discussions, public convenings, and other events.

ANNA DEAVERE SMITH STARS IN AN ALL NEW EPISODE OF FOR THE PEOPLE, THIS THURSDAY AT 10|9c ON ABC. LEARN MORE.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD, THE HBO FILMS ADAPTATION OF ANNA DEAVERE SMITH’S ACCLAIMED ONE-WOMAN SHOW ABOUT AMERICA’S FAILED JUSTICE SYSTEM, IS NOW STREAMING ON HBO. LEARN MORE.

Instead of inmates being able to receive donated books in the mail from family members and community groups, inmates at three New York prisons now have to purchase books selected by six, state-approved vendors. And the selection is limited. And expensive, activists say.

THE INTERVIEWS

Since beginning her research for The Pipeline Project in 2013, Anna Deavere Smith has interviewed over 250 people in four main geographic areas: Northern California, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and South Carolina. Interviews have also been conducted in New York, Washington DC, and even Helsinki. In order to get as many perspectives as possible, Anna has spoken with a wide variety of people who have been affected by these issues: students, teachers, and principals; incarcerated youth, correctional officers, judges, public defenders, and law enforcement officials; community organizers and activists; academics and social scientists; musicians and journalists. Scroll down below to hear from a few of these individuals directly.

1

Amanda Ripley

Following the November 15 performance of Notes From the Field at Second Stage, Anna Deavere Smith sat down with Amanda Ripley, a journalist and Pipeline Project interviewee. Amanda has written extensively about education, in the U.S. and abroad, and recently wrote an article for The Atlantic about the disturbing schools law in South Carolina.

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2

Taos Proctor

“Prison don’t do nothing but make you a worser person. Made me where I didn’t care if I hurt someone. And the longer you stay in prison, the more you lose your feelings about even caring. You don’t care if you stab someone. […] Who cares? You’re worthless!”

Yurok Fisherman, former Inmate
Yurok Reservation, Klamath, CA

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3

Judge Dan Anders

“And what I said to him during sentencing was, I said, the system’s failed you. We as a society failed you. At some point we didn’t meet our responsibility to provide you with a safe environment, an education, all the things that you need. We failed you.”

Philadelphia, PA

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4

Bree Newsome

“So then after the- after the massacre happened and then they wouldn’t even lower the flag to half-staff, that was kind of the snapping point for me. I told him even, like, if we could take the Confederate Flag down, that’s something that I would, you know, risk going back to jail for.”